Apparatus and method for creating 3D content for oriental painting

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are an apparatus and method for creating 3D content for an Oriental painting. The apparatus includes a 2D image analysis unit, a 3D information extraction unit, a content creation unit, and a 3D content conversion unit. The 2D image analysis unit receives previous knowledge information, and analyzes 2D information about at least one of an empty space, light and shading, and a composition of an image of the Oriental painting based on the previous knowledge information. The 3D information extraction unit extracts 3D information about at least one of a distance, a depth, a viewpoint, and a focus of the Oriental painting image. The content creation unit creates content for the Oriental painting image based on the analysis information and the 3D information. The 3D content conversion unit converts the content for the Oriental painting image into 3D content based on the 3D information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2010-0132877, filed on Dec. 22, 2010, and Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2011-0046755, filed on May 18, 2011, respectively, which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into thisapplication.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method forcreating three-dimensional (3D) content for an Oriental painting and,more particularly, to an apparatus and method for creating 3D contentfor an Oriental painting, which convert a two-dimensional (2D) image ofthe Oriental painting (e.g., a classical black-and-white drawing) into a3D image based on 3D information included in a black-and-white drawingimage and create 3D content suitable for 3D display using the 3Dinformation.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the attention that 3D TV and 3D display devices are attractingrecently, there is increased interest in the production of 3D content.Accordingly, if cultural contents may be stereoscopically created byconverting Oriental paintings such as classical black-and-whitedrawings, traditional pictures may be interpreted in a modem fashion,cultural contents may be grafted into media arts, and application tovarious fields are enabled from the viewpoint of edutainment.

Conventional attempts may include, in terms of media arts, the work ofadding animation effects to a Korean classical painting by extractingthe parts of the Korean classical painting that are amenable to beinganimated and editing images using design work, and displaying thepainting on an LCD disposed on the picture scrolls of an 8-panel foldingscreen. This technique, however, does not take a 3D display device intoconsideration, and the main object thereof is to edit, process, anddisplay input data using computer graphics technology. Accordingly, inorder to reproduce the input data using a 3D display, there arise theproblems that an expert must perform additional manual work and thatadditional time and cost are required.

Furthermore, there are the tasks of converting a common 2D image into a3D image. A method using computer vision technology derives depthinformation from near and far information and lost points within a 2Dimage, generate a 3D effect based on the depth information, andreproduce a 3D image on a 3D display.

However, whether to perform conversion and the performance of conversiondepend on characteristics of the image because computer visiontechniques are applied to common images. The most significantdisadvantage is that it is difficult to apply the computer visiontechnique to a classical black-and-white drawing using three distanceperspective representation, the light and shading of Indian ink andempty space because depth information are derived from 1-dot perspectiverepresentation (i.e., European perspective representation). That is, theconventional approach to common images is not appropriate for the 3Dconversion of a classical black-and-white drawing because thecharacteristics of only the classical black-and-white drawing do notappear in a common image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide an apparatus and method for creating 3D contentfor an Oriental painting, which can produce 3D content suitable for a 3Ddisplay by stereoscopically converting an image of an Oriental paintingbased on specific information included in the Oriental painting.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus andmethod for creating 3D content for an Oriental painting, which enablesan Oriental painting to be interpreted in a modern and stereoscopicmanner by producing 3D content for an Oriental painting using a computervision technique.

In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention providesan apparatus for creating 3D content for an Oriental painting, theapparatus including a 2D image analysis unit for receiving previousknowledge information used for analyzing the Oriental painting, andanalyzing 2D information about at least one of an empty space, light andshading, and a composition of an image of the Oriental painting based onthe previous knowledge information; a 3D information extraction unit forextracting 3D information about at least one of a distance, a depth, aviewpoint, and a focus of the Oriental painting image based on theprevious knowledge information and the analysis information of the 2Dimage analysis unit; a content creation unit for creating content forthe Oriental painting image based on the analysis information and the 3Dinformation; and a 3D content conversion unit for converting the contentfor the Oriental painting image into 3D content by applying the 3Dinformation to image information about the content for the Orientalpainting image.

The 2D image analysis unit may extract the information about the emptyspace and the light and shading from the Oriental painting image, andanalyze the composition of the Oriental painting image based on theinformation about the empty space and the light and shading.

The 3D information extraction unit may detect objects within theOriental painting image based on the information about the empty spaceand the composition of the Oriental painting image, and extract theinformation about the viewpoint within the Oriental painting image byascertaining a distance relationship between the objects.

The 3D information extraction unit may extract depth information aboutthe objects within the Oriental painting image based on the informationabout the light and shading of the Oriental painting image.

The 3D information extraction unit may extract the information about thefocus within the Oriental painting image based on the information aboutthe light and shading of the Oriental painting image.

The previous knowledge information may include at least one of emptyspace processing information, basic composition information, andviewpoint processing information necessary to interpret the Orientalpainting.

The content creation unit may include a subtitle insertion unit forinserting at least one piece of subtitle information, selected fromamong music information, analysis information, and work explanationinformation, related to the Oriental painting image, into the Orientalpainting image; and an audio insertion unit for inserting at least onepiece of audio information, selected from among music and voice data ofa commentator, related to the Oriental painting image, into the contentfor the Oriental painting image.

The content creation unit may further include a viewpoint control unitfor controlling the viewpoint information about the Oriental paintingimage.

In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention providesa method for creating 3D content for an Oriental painting, the methodincluding receiving previous knowledge information used for analyzingthe Oriental painting, and analyzing 2D information about at least oneof an empty space, light and shading, and a composition of an image ofthe Oriental painting based on the previous knowledge information;extracting 3D information about at least one of a distance, a depth, aviewpoint, and a focus of the Oriental painting image based on theprevious knowledge information and the analysis information about theOriental painting image; creating content for the Oriental paintingimage based on the analysis information and the 3D information; andconverting the content for the Oriental painting image into 3D contentby applying the 3D information to image information about the contentfor the Oriental painting image.

The analyzing 2D information may include extracting the informationabout the empty space and the light and shading from the Orientalpainting image; and analyzing the composition of the Oriental paintingimage based on the information about the empty space and the light andshading.

The extracting 3D information may include detecting objects within theOriental painting image based on the information about the empty spaceand the composition of the Oriental painting image; and extracting theinformation about the viewpoint within the Oriental painting image byascertaining a distance relationship between the objects.

The extracting 3D information may include extracting depth informationabout the objects within the Oriental painting image based on theinformation about the light and shading of the Oriental painting image.

The extracting 3D information may include extracting the informationabout the focus within the Oriental painting image based on theinformation about the light and shading of the Oriental painting image.

The previous knowledge information may include at least one of emptyspace processing information, basic composition information, andviewpoint processing information necessary to interpret the Orientalpainting.

The creating content for the Oriental painting image may includeinserting at least one piece of subtitle information, selected fromamong music information, analysis information, and work explanationinformation, related to the Oriental painting image, into the Orientalpainting image; and inserting at least one piece of audio information,selected from among music and voice data of a commentator, related tothe Oriental painting image.

The creating content for the Oriental painting image may includecontrolling the viewpoint information about the Oriental painting image,into the content for the Oriental painting image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an apparatusfor creating 3D content for an Oriental painting according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the detailed configuration of a2D image analysis unit according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the operation of the 2D imageanalysis unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the detailed configuration of a3D information extraction unit according to the present invention;

FIGS. 5A to 5D are diagrams illustrating the operation of the 3Dinformation extraction unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the contentcreation unit according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of creating the 3D contentof an Oriental painting according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for creating 3Dcontent using a 2D Oriental painting image, and, in particularly, anapparatus and method for stereoscopically restoring an Oriental paintingby extracting depth information and multi-viewpoint information fromclues included in a classical black-and-white drawing and thenconverting a 2D painting into a 3D painting.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. Although embodiments will be chiefly describedbased on the black-and-white drawings of Oriental paintings, they arenot limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an apparatusfor creating 3D content for an Oriental painting according to thepresent invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus for creating 3D content for anOriental painting (hereinafter referred to as the ‘3D content creatingapparatus’) according to the present invention includes a control unit110, an image input unit 120, an image output unit 130, a storage unit140, a 2D image analysis unit 150, a 3D information extraction unit 160,a content creation unit 170, and a 3D content conversion unit 180. Thecontrol unit 110 controls the operation of the elements of the 3Dcontent creating apparatus.

The image input unit 120 is means for receiving a 2D Oriental paintingimage. The image output unit 130 is means for outputting 3D content thatis generated by the 3D content creating apparatus using the 2D Orientalpainting image received via the image input unit 120.

The 2D image analysis unit 150 analyzes the 2D Oriental painting image.The 2D image analysis unit 150 analyzes the empty spaces and light andshading of the 2D Oriental painting image. Furthermore, the 2D imageanalysis unit 150 analyzes the composition of the 2D Oriental paintingimage based on the empty spaces and light and shading of the 2D Orientalpainting image, and detects one or more objects included in the 2DOriental painting image. The detailed configuration of the 2D imageanalysis unit 150 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

The 3D information extraction unit 160 extracts information about thedistance between the objects within the 2D Oriental painting image,depth information, viewpoint information, and focus information based onthe analysis results of the 2D image analysis unit 150 and previousknowledge about the 2D Oriental painting image that that had been input.The detailed configuration of the 3D information extraction unit 160will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.

The content generation unit 170 corrects parts of the 2D Orientalpainting image based on the 3D information extracted by the 3Dinformation extraction unit 160, or creates content for the 2D Orientalpainting image by inserting music, analysis information, andexplanations of the work in the form of subtitles. The detailedconfiguration of the content creation unit 170 will be described belowwith reference to FIG. 6.

The 3D content conversion unit 180 converts an image of the createdcontent into a 3D image by applying the 3D information about the 2DOriental painting image to the created content.

In other words, the 3D content conversion unit 180 converts the content,created by the content creation unit 170, into image information so thatthe content can be reproduced in a 3D display device. For example, the3D content conversion unit 180 converts the created content, edited sothat it may use a multi-viewpoint effect in a multi-viewpoint displaydevice, into a format supported by the display.

The storage unit 140 stores the 2D Oriental painting image received viathe image input unit 120. Furthermore, the storage unit 140 stores the3D information of the 2D Oriental painting image, extracted by the 3Dinformation extraction unit 160, as a result of the 2D Oriental paintingimage of the analysis of the 2D image analysis unit 150, and stores thecontent created by the operation of the content creation unit 170 andthe 3D content conversion unit 180.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the detailed configuration of the2D image analysis unit 150 according to the present invention. As shownin FIG. 2, the 2D image analysis unit 150 includes an empty spaceanalysis unit 151, a light and shading analysis unit 153, and acomposition analysis unit 155.

The empty space analysis unit 151 analyzes at least one empty spaceregion within the received 2D Oriental painting image.

A region covering a major portion of a painting, such as the sky, water,or the earth, is mainly set as empty space. Furthermore, the empty spaceplays an important role of detecting an object. Accordingly, the emptyspace may be used as important information that distinguishes an object,drawn in the Oriental painting, from a background region.

The light and shading analysis unit 153 analyzes light and shadinginformation within the received 2D Oriental painting image.

The composition analysis unit 155 analyzes the entire composition of theOriental painting based on the empty space information and the light andshading information about the Oriental painting.

The information obtained by the analysis of the empty space analysisunit 151, the light and shading analysis unit 153, and the compositionanalysis unit 155 is stored in the storage unit 140, and may beadditionally used in the subsequent process of creating content.

If previous knowledge of an Oriental painting work is necessary,corresponding information may also be additionally input to the 2D imageanalysis unit 150 and then be used to perform analysis.

The detailed operation of the empty space analysis unit 151, the lightand shading analysis unit 153, and the composition analysis unit 155shown in FIG. 2 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C.

FIG. 3A shows an example in which a composition has been analyzed basedon an empty space within a 2D Oriental painting image. In FIG. 3A, apart related to the earth is set as an empty space. The empty spacefunctions to distinguish the earth from people.

Accordingly, the 2D image analysis unit analyzes the empty space basedon the 2D Oriental painting image of FIG. 3A, and also detects objects(i.e., people) around the empty space.

Here, the 2D image analysis unit ascertains the symmetry and compositionof the Oriental painting based on the empty space information and theobject information. In particular, in FIG. 3A, the 2D image analysisunit ascertains that the Oriental painting has a square compositionbased on the empty space.

FIG. 3B shows an example in which snow is represented using an emptyspace within a 2D Oriental painting image.

A method of representing snow, fallen in winter, using an empty space,as shown in FIG. 3B, is called an empty space leaving method which isone of the black-and-white drawing methods. The empty space leavingmethod is a method of drawing portions without snow so that snowconspicuously seems to have fallen on the white background of apainting, unlike a partial method of directly painting a part on whichsnow has fallen white in a Western painting.

If previous knowledge of an Oriental painting work is necessary asdescribed above, the corresponding information may be additionally inputto the 2D image analysis unit, and then be used for analyzing thecorresponding Oriental painting.

Accordingly, the 2D image analysis unit extracts the empty spaceinformation from the Oriental painting of FIG. 3B so that other objects(e.g., a house and a tree) can be subsequently distinguished from snow.

FIG. 3C shows an example in which an object is represented using thelight and shading of Indian ink.

From the painting of FIG. 3C, it can be seen that bamboo plants placedat the front and back are represented using the light and shading ofIndian ink. That is, the leaves of a bamboo plant placed at the frontare darkly represented, and the leaves of a bamboo plant placed at theback are obscurely represented.

The 2D image analysis unit extracts information that can be used todistinguish the bamboo placed at the front from the bamboo placed at theback, by analyzing light and shading (e.g., the light and shading ofIndian ink) within the 2D Oriental painting image of FIG. 3C.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the detailed configuration of the3D information extraction unit 160 according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the 3D information extraction unit 160 includes adepth information extraction unit 161, a viewpoint informationextraction unit 163, and a focus information extraction unit 165.

The depth information extraction unit 161 extracts depth informationabout the 2D Oriental painting image based on the analysis results ofthe light and shading analysis unit.

The viewpoint information extraction unit 163 extracts viewpointinformation about the 2D Oriental painting image based on the analysisresults of the composition analysis unit. For example, the viewpointinformation extraction unit 163 may ascertain the distance relationshipbetween objects within the painting based on previous knowledge of the2D Oriental painting image, and extract multi-viewpoint information.

If the multi-viewpoint information extracted by the viewpointinformation extraction unit 163 is used, the 3D effect may be reproducedby a 3D display device not only in a horizontal direction but also in avertical direction.

The focus information extraction unit 165 extracts a focused positionfrom the 2D Oriental painting image by analyzing the 2D Orientalpainting image.

The information extracted by the depth information extraction unit 161,the viewpoint information extraction unit 163, and the focus informationextraction unit 165 is stored in the storage unit, and is used to addthe 3D effect in the 3D content conversion unit.

The operation of the depth information extraction unit 161, theviewpoint information extraction unit 163, and the focus informationextraction unit 165 will now be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 5A to 5D.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating the operation of extracting depthinformation.

The most basic information of the analysis information about the 2DOriental painting image, obtained by the 2D image analysis unit, islight and shading information. In general, a dark Indian ink lineindicates a close object, and an obscure or light Indian ink lineindicates an object placed in the rear. Alternatively, a dark Indian inkline may indicate an object in focus, and an obscure Indian ink line mayindicate that an object is out of focus.

Accordingly, the depth information extraction unit extracts depthinformation about a received image based on the light and shadinginformation.

FIG. 5A shows an image based on the depth information extracted from theimage of FIG. 3C by the depth information extraction unit. In FIG. 5A,the distance relationship is represented using a grayscale image havingpixel values ranging from 0 to 255. Here, an object having a colorcloser to white 255 is an object placed in the front, and an objecthaving a color closer to black 0 is an object placed in the rear.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating the operation of extracting viewpointinformation.

As shown in FIG. 5B, in the Oriental painting, the direction along whicha person's gaze moves is basically directed from the upper right side tothe lower left side. Accordingly, if a distant object or a hill and ariver are placed on the top right side and a close object or a hill anda river are placed on the bottom left side, objects placed in the frontchiefly appear from the top to the bottom.

FIG. 5B shows the movement of a viewpoint in two diagonal directions.That is, the movement of a first viewpoint is directed from the topright side to the bottom left side, and the movement of a secondviewpoint is directed from the left side to the bottom right side. Aroad winding and bending from the back to the front can be representedusing the changing position of the viewpoint.

Accordingly, the viewpoint information extraction unit extracts movementinformation about the two viewpoints from the 2D Oriental painting imageof FIG. 5B based on the analysis results of the 2D image analysis unit.

FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating another operation of extractingviewpoint information.

The perspective representation of a Western painting is based on an1-dot perspective representation in which a viewer is one in number anddoes not move. That is, in an 1-dot perspective representation, a singleviewer or painter exists outside a screen, and then the viewer orpainter draws what he sees from that viewpoint. With the development ofabstract painting, Picasso who is a Cubism painter draws all the shapesof an object which are viewed from several viewpoints. A common point inthe previous paintings is that there is the assumption of a singleviewpoint and a single viewer.

Unlike the above, in Oriental painting, there is a perspectiverepresentation called a three-distance perspective representation, whichis also called high-distance perspective representation, deep-distanceperspective representation, or flat-distance perspective representation.The high-distance perspective representation is a method of representingthe viewpoint from which an object is viewed from the bottom to the top,the deep distance perspective representation is a method of representingthe viewpoint from which an object is viewed from at a similar height,and the flat distance perspective representation is a method ofrepresenting the viewpoint from which an object is viewed from a higherplace a lower place.

The 2D Oriental painting image of FIG. 5C includes the viewpoint fromwhich an object is viewed from a lower place to a higher place, theviewpoint from which an object is viewed from at a similar height, andthe viewpoint from which an object is viewed from a higher place a lowerplace.

That is, in FIG. 5C, P1 indicates the viewpoint from which an object isviewed from at a similar height, P2 indicates the viewpoint from whichan object is viewed from a lower place to a higher place, and P3indicates the viewpoint from which an object is viewed from a higherplace a lower place.

Accordingly, the viewpoint information extraction unit extracts threepieces of information about the viewpoints P1, P2, and P3.

FIG. 5D is a diagram illustrating the operation of extracting focusinformation.

As described above, in Oriental painting, a focus may be representedusing the light and shading of Indian ink.

In FIG. 5D, a hill at the center of the painting is focused using a darkIndian ink line, but the Indian ink line becomes gradually light towardthe right side and the left side. Accordingly, the focus informationextraction unit extracts focus information from a dark Indian inkportion P4 based on the light and shading information of Indian ink.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the contentcreation unit according to the present invention.

The content generation unit 170 creates content for the 2D Orientalpainting image, and edits the created content based on 2D image analysisinformation and 3D information.

As shown in FIG. 6, the content creation unit 170 includes an effectediting unit 171, a subtitle insertion unit 173, an audio insertion unit175, and a viewpoint control unit 177.

The effect editing unit 171 incorporates a specific effect into theentire or partial region of an Oriental painting image based on the 3Dinformation (i.e., depth information, viewpoint information, and focusinformation) extracted by the 3D information extraction unit, and thenedits the region.

The subtitle insertion unit 173 inserts music information, analysisinformation, and/or an explanation of a work, corresponding to theOriental painting image, into the Oriental painting image as subtitles.

The audio insertion unit 175 inserts music and the voice data of acommentator, corresponding to the Oriental painting image, into thecreated content.

The viewpoint control unit 177 controls a viewpoint of the Orientalpainting image by adding a multi-viewpoint function or by inserting onlya binocular viewpoint function depending on the type of 3D display meansfor outputting the content.

Thereafter, the 3D content conversion unit may vary the 3D effect of thecontent, created based on the pieces of 3D information extracted by the3D information extraction unit, for each unique part of the paintingover time, or may add animation that changes depending on the viewpoint.

The operation of the 3D content creating apparatus according to thepresent invention will now be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of creating 3D content foran Oriental painting according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, when a 2D Oriental painting image is received atstep S200, the 3D content creating apparatus analyzes 2D imageinformation (i.e., empty spaces and light and shading) about the 2DOriental painting image at step S210. Here, the 3D content creatingapparatus analyzes the composition of the 2D Oriental painting imagebased on the information about the empty spaces and the light andshading according to the results of the analysis at step S220.

Thereafter, the 3D content creating apparatus extracts 3D informationabout the 2D Oriental painting image. Here, the 3D content creatingapparatus extracts depth information, viewpoint information, and focusinformation about the 2D Oriental painting image at steps S230, S240,and S250.

When the process of analyzing the 2D Oriental painting image andextracting the 3D information has completed, the 3D content creatingapparatus creates content based on the analysis information and theextraction information at step S260.

The step S260 may include the process of additionally insertingsubtitles, the process of inserting audio, and/or the process ofcontrolling the viewpoint.

After the content has been generated at step S260, the 3D contentcreating apparatus converts an image of the content into a 3D imagedepending on the characteristics of 3D display means for outputting thecontent at step S270.

The content image may be converted based on the 3D information extractedat steps S230 to S250, in addition to the process of converting thecontent image into the 3D image. The 3D effect of the created contentmay be set so that it appears differently depending on each part of apainting over time, or animation may be added that varies depending onthe viewpoint.

The 3D content generated at step S270 is output via 3D display means atstep S280.

Although the apparatus and method for creating 3D content for anOriental painting according to the present invention have been describedabove with reference to the illustrated drawings, the present inventionis not limited to the embodiments disclosed in the specification and thedrawings, but may be applied within the scope of the technical spirit.

As described above, according to the present invention, cultural contentreproduced in a 3D display can be created by extracting 3D informationincluded in a 2D classical black-and-white drawing image. The presentinvention is advantageous in that it enables everyone to appreciate apainting with curiosity by revealing the value of an old painting, whichwas considered to be static and difficult, using the 3D conversion of ablack-and-white drawing that has never been attempted and by reproducingthe old painting on a 3D display.

A conventional technique of converting a 2D image into a 3D image may beapplied to only common images and may not be applied to an image havingunique characteristics, such as a black-and-white drawing, because it isfocused on automation. Furthermore, the conventional technique isdisadvantageous in that it is difficult to add or maximize a specificeffect according to the intention of its creator because a 3D image isautomatically generated. In the present invention, however, low-quality3D content is not automatically created by applying one rule to allworks, but a 3D effect most suitable for each work is generated for thework by appropriately using the characteristics of only ablack-and-white drawing and previous knowledge. Accordingly,high-quality 3D content can be produced which maximizes effects in termsof media arts and edutainment by interpreting a classicalblack-and-white drawing again and newly reproducing the classicalblack-and-white drawing using a 3D display.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention asdisclosed in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for creating 3D content of anOriental painting, the apparatus comprising: a 2D image analysis unitfor receiving previous knowledge information used for analyzing theOriental painting, and analyzing 2D information about at least one of anempty space, light and shading, and a composition of an image of theOriental painting based on the previous knowledge information; a 3Dinformation extraction unit, executed by a processor, for extracting 3Dinformation about at least one of a distance, a depth, a viewpoint, anda focus of the Oriental painting image based on the previous knowledgeinformation and the analysis information of the 2D image analysis unit;a content creation unit for creating content for the Oriental paintingimage based on the analysis information and the 3D information; and a 3Dcontents conversion unit for converting the content for the Orientalpainting image into 3D content by applying the 3D information to imageinformation about the content for the Oriental painting image, whereinthe 3D information extraction unit detects objects within the Orientalpainting image based on the information about the empty space and thecomposition of the Oriental painting image, and extracts the informationabout the viewpoint within the Oriental painting image by ascertaining adistance relationship between the objects, wherein the 3D informationextraction unit extracts depth information about the objects within theOriental painting image based on the information about the light andshading of the Oriental painting image, and wherein the 3D informationextraction unit extracts the information about the focus within theOriental painting image based on the information about the light andshading of the Oriental painting image.
 2. The apparatus as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the 2D image analysis unit extracts the informationabout the empty space and the light and shading from the Orientalpainting image, and analyzes the composition of the Oriental paintingimage based on the information about the empty space and the light andshading.
 3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the previousknowledge information comprises at least one of empty space processinginformation, basic composition information, and viewpoint processinginformation necessary to interpret the Oriental painting.
 4. Theapparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the content creation unitcomprises: a subtitle insertion unit for inserting at least one piece ofsubtitle information, selected from among music information, analysisinformation, and work explanation information, related to the Orientalpainting image, into the Oriental painting image; and an audio insertionunit for inserting at least one piece of audio information, selectedfrom among music and voice data of a commentator, related to theOriental painting image, into the content for the Oriental paintingimage.
 5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the contentcreation unit further comprises a viewpoint control unit for controllingthe viewpoint information about the Oriental painting image.
 6. A methodfor creating 3D content for an Oriental painting, the method comprising:receiving previous knowledge information used for analyzing the Orientalpainting, and analyzing 2D information about at least one of an emptyspace, light and shading, and a composition of an image of the Orientalpainting based on the previous knowledge information; extracting 3Dinformation about at least one of a distance, a depth, a viewpoint, anda focus of the Oriental painting image based on the previous knowledgeinformation and the analysis information about the Oriental paintingimage; creating content for the Oriental painting image based on theanalysis information and the 3D information; and converting the contentfor the Oriental painting image into 3D content by applying the 3Dinformation to image information about the content for the Orientalpainting image, wherein the extracting 3D information comprises:detecting objects within the Oriental painting image based on theinformation about the empty space and the composition of the Orientalpainting image; extracting the information about the viewpoint withinthe Oriental painting image by ascertaining a distance relationshipbetween the objects; extracting depth information about the objectswithin the Oriental painting image based on the information about thelight and shading of the Oriental painting image; and extracting theinformation about the focus within the Oriental painting image based onthe information about the light and shading of the Oriental paintingimage.
 7. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the analyzing 2Dinformation comprises: extracting the information about the empty spaceand the light and shading from the Oriental painting image; andanalyzing the composition of the Oriental painting image based on theinformation about the empty space and the light and shading.
 8. Themethod as set forth in claim 6, wherein the previous knowledgeinformation comprises at least one of empty space processinginformation, basic composition information, and viewpoint processinginformation necessary to interpret the Oriental painting.
 9. The methodas set forth in claim 6, wherein the creating content for the Orientalpainting image comprises: inserting at least one piece of subtitleinformation, selected from among music information, analysisinformation, and work explanation information, related to the Orientalpainting image, into the Oriental painting image; and inserting at leastone piece of audio information, selected from among music and voice dataof a commentator, related to the Oriental painting image, into thecontent for the Oriental painting image.
 10. The method as set forth inclaim 9, wherein the creating content for the Oriental painting imagecomprises controlling the viewpoint information about the Orientalpainting image.